Sample of the Day - February 2014

Thought it was about time we got this month's thread going. Better late than never, eh?

Today l tried Magical Moon by Hanae Mori. The reviews of this one caught my eye quite a while back when l was looking for tropical fragrances. l've never seen this brand in the UK, so l finally got my sample from STC.

Wow, this is a rich, opulent, full-bodied tropical oriental, in very much the same ball-park as Guerlain's Mahora. ln fact it's the only other fragrance in Mahora's ball-park, in my experience. l get tuberose, jasmine, coconut, vanilla, & a touch of fruity osmanthus, joined early on by creamy, lactonic woods, & later by a wisp of incense. lt's powerful, in an unapologetic, almost eighties fashion, for the first couple of hours. After this it becomes much softer, drying down to a base of clean musk & smooth sandalwood, fading after five hours.

This fragrance makes me smile. As Mr teardrop adorably pointed out, l don't really do subtle when it comes to fragrance, & Magical Moon is certainly not subtle. This is Perfume with a capital P. After sampling a few that were in fact a little too subtle for me recently, it is a joy to find something that makes more of a statement. Power Perfume Girls unite!

​​"What is this secret connection between the soul, and sea, clouds and perfumes? The soul itself appears to be sea, cloud and perfume..." - from Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis.

Re: Sample of the Day - February 2014

Teardrop, we all let you down this month! Surely we sampled!

LesNez Let Me Play the LionThis was put out almost 10 years ago I think, and I always wanted to smell it but never did until now. This is an interesting little thing, all shy but yet present. Throughout the day I would lose it, then catch the best whiff of something floral woody or incense woody. It shifted around quite a bit, yet really smelled somewhat similar all the way through. It seems to me to be mostly a cedar fragrance, but not the sharp edged cedar that can seem piercing, rather just a sharper wood smell than a creamy smooth sandalwood, which this approaches in the far dry down.

Incense is present, also a hit of an undifined creamy floral, but these are contributers to overall smell of wood. There is even something honey like or amber like to sweeten it up towards the end. It is hard to exactly capture because this is such a soft scent. But I think that is intentional. This is one of those fragrances that is almost meditational, one that is serene and calming.

This little lion is lovely. If you can overlook the softness, it is reallly rather rich.

Re: Sample of the Day - February 2014

Lovely review cello, & thanks for posting, it was getting a little lonely in here!

For anyone who doesn't know, this thread is for anyone to post their impressions of whatever they're sampling; this can be as brief or as detailed as you like. lt's just fun & interesting to read about what people are trying, & it can often inspire one to try things they'd never have thought of otherwise. There's a new thread each month which anyone can start, just like the daily SOTD threads.

lt would be great to see more newcomers posting here, so don't be shy, all are welcome!

​​"What is this secret connection between the soul, and sea, clouds and perfumes? The soul itself appears to be sea, cloud and perfume..." - from Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis.

Re: Sample of the Day - February 2014

I did start posting my samples in January, I think, and then things got away from me and I forgot about this. Anyway, thanks for reminding me! Today I sampled Parfumerie Generale Un Crime Exotique. This was the first fragrance I tried from this house and wouldn't you know it, this scent has been discontinued (issued in 2007, gone in 2013, I think). Too bad! It's a cinnamon, ginger, vanilla, and tea scent that is lovely if you are into gourmand frags. It's calming and warming and very soothing, but much better suited for cold weather. In the heat I imagine this would be cloying and too sweet, but it was great today which cool and a little blustery.

Re: Sample of the Day - February 2014

Cello, I am so jealous! I've been wanting to try Let me Play the Lion for a while now. One day, I'll grab a sample...one day.

I haven't noticed this thread, so I will post my recent samplings of House of Matriarch. UPDATE: One thing I will say about the line is all of the scents I've tried before have KILLER longevity and sillage. House of Matriarch Perfumes are well worth the money in terms of performance, quality of materials and uniqueness. The line exudes both quality luxury..

Ambre Vie - 2/24

A dusty, warm, semi-sweet amber lying on a soft bed of clean, not too animalic musk. It does lean slightly gourmand...as an ever so slightly vanillic amber gives this fragrance just a hint of butterscotch. Ambre Vie then mellows down into a smooth and luxurious powdery incense with wafts of clean white smoke and comfortable amber throughout. Lovers of LDDM might want to give this highly unisex amber a shot. Ambre Vie definitely isn't an uber macho amber fragrance. I think both men and women that found TF Amber Absolute or Serge Lutens Ambre Sultan a little to brash or in your face, you may want to give this a shot as it's a much softer, smoother, richer representation of amber.

These are quite expensive scents, I will admit. However, you can really tell with my first fragrance (Ambre Vie) that no expense was spared in terms of the quality materials that were used to create this fragrance.

Blackbird - 2/25

Let just start by saying...to say I strongly dislike leather is an understatement. I really have a general distaste for fragrances with strong leather accords and this one does have a strong leather accord. HOWEVER, if leather was like this in all fragrances I would not have such strong negative feelings about "leather forward" fragrances.

Blackbird begins pretty loud as an extremely soft and mellow Italian luxury black leather with what I can only describe as "strong green notes." I don't the pot vibe, sorry. I'm guessing that's just part of the Seattle story or the pot in the Pacific NW is much different than here in Chicago. This is more plant material like a conifer forest deep in the woods of the Pacific NW. Blackbird dries down to a pronounced head shop incense with leather and the unmistakeable plant material notes playing second fiddle ever so lightly in the background along with a light floral (tuberose?) Each accord seems to come back during the dry down, like a hook in a song. Definitely a wafting scent after starting off quite strong as described by other reviewers. That's to be expected of a fragrance with a 33% concentration. This is one that I think is worthy of the hefty price tag. If you've been looking for a scent and nothing has been unique enough for you or just hasn't moved you...I urge you to try this one. 10/10 in my book and I'm only 4 hours into my wearing. My wallet will hate me, but I might have to get this one.

Bohemian Black - 2/27

Starts out with limoncello up front and center accompanied by a strong herbal accord for the better part of a few hours. Bohemian Black then completely morphs into bouquet of amped up white florals lying on a bed of citrusy resins & incense, and a very warm/light/sweet amber. Intensely rich woods seem to further amplify the floral notes.

I love the opening of Bohemian Black. It's really nice for a lack of a better description...Love the sweet limoncello jockeying for position over a wonderful, intensely herbal accord. What I'm not in love with is the heart and base of the fragrance which is all about white floral notes surrounding rich woods.

This is more "Bohemian" than it is "Black" to me. I would have liked a little more spice, smoke or wood with the overtly floral dry down...something to shake it up a bit in the very rich heart/base as the intense herbal notes do in the opening. Nice, but the dry down wasn't for me, although unisex, this leans a little too far into feminine territory as it does get powdery with the richness of the florals (not my thing.)

EDIT: Additionally, there's some really nice Mysore Sandalwood that kicks in about the 7 hour mark. If this fragrance started the same, skipped the floral blast and went straight to the warm, smooth Mysore finish...it'd be in my collection. So, for lovers of Mysore and white floral notes, this should be on your radar!

Coco Blanc - 2/28

Starts off coconut mingling with white chocolate on top. Coco Blanc then settles into what smells like a gourmet hazelnut/vanilla white chocolate latte. Once settled in a nice woodiness meets a very light musk and hint of spice which gets slightly dusty. This is a well blended and harmonious scent, which seems to be a theme in HoM fragrances...switching gears ever so smoothly. Then, before you know it a different accord jumps off the skin and demands your attention. Great stuff. A must sample for gourmand lovers.

Re: Sample of the Day - February 2014

Aoud Queen Roses - Montale - nice rose at times but very generic & was washed off in the end.
Ex Idolo's Thirty Three is far better quality & doesn't have the 'off' notes.

Amouage Ohood - one that I've intended to try for ages, disappointing, generic, & very weak compared to the original 'attar' line.
It's been on for about an hour and a half & is mostly a soft rosy skin scent.
It will be interesting to test some others from the current line, kindly supplied by another generous member.

Re: Sample of the Day - February 2014

It was my first, rum - not really a sample as it's a 20 ml Montale mini-spray thingy, but it doesn't inspire me to investigate much further tbh.
I found it annoying and I'm a generally sucker for rose!

Re: Sample of the Day - February 2014

Originally Posted by lpp

Amouage Ohood - one that I've intended to try for ages, disappointing, generic, & very weak compared to the original 'attar' line.
It's been on for about an hour and a half & is mostly a soft rosy skin scent.

I'm glad you said it, actually - I found this one entirely forgettable. Had to test it again just to remind myself what it was like!

Re: Sample of the Day - February 2014

So long as it's not only me, rowan

Testing Peety right now, it was rather uriinous to start with but is settling down in a citric/herbal/musky sort of way now.
The way that this guy uses vanilla is very unusual too - nothing sweet or cloying, a lovely gentle vanilla hint.